Schwarzenegger "felt it was very important to let the people of California know this governor plans to be around for the long haul," campaign spokesman Todd Harris said. "It's not a 24-month job, it's a five-year job and he intends to see it through to the end."

The governor had been expected to make the announcement when he speaks to guests at a noon rally here.

The Republican actor-turned-governor, who has hinted as much for weeks, had all but launched a campaign Wednesday, telling supporters, "I'm not in this just for the short term."

The announcement coincides with the opening day of the state Republican Party convention in Anaheim, which Schwarzenegger is scheduled to address today.

Sunni calls for peace amid more bloodshed

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A leading Sunni cleric called for religious and ethnic groups to take a stand against violence as Iraq endured a third consecutive day of sectarian killings - the worst, a suicide car bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed at least 12 worshippers as they left Friday prayers.

The bombing in Tuz Khormato, where a young Saudi man was later arrested wearing a bomb belt on his way to a second mosque, was the latest suicide attack following al-Qaida in Iraq's declaration of all-out war on Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority.

Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group said it was taking revenge for a joint Iraqi-U.S. offensive against its stronghold in Tal Afar, a city near the Syrian border.

With more than 20 people killed Friday, the death toll over the past three days surpassed 200, with more than 600 wounded.

Sheik Mahmud al-Sumaidaei, a leading Sunni cleric whose group is linked to the country's insurgency, criticized militants for targeting civilians. He called for Iraq's religious and ethnic groups to take a stand against further bloodshed.